How to cool a tank??

Hey Justin,

First thing I would do is get one of those small clip on fans & put it on your sump. Your probably dont need it going at night so put it on a timer to co incide with your lights.

Any chance you can raise the lights up a little?

 

I just run the AC all the time, no fans on the tank..
I actually live on the 6th floor of a place, so in the summer when it's 80 outside, it's like 90+ in my place..
Seems to be doing alright, I think I saw 87 degrees yesterday afternoon on a billboard?
Thanks stays 78/78.5..

 

Fans usually do a lot for cooling, especially on a smaller tank. You could go the AC route, but that tends to cost a lot. I am personally going to try a window AC unit just for the bedroom where the tank is located. /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/smile.gif

 

Get a chiller and quit worrying about it. Sounds expensive I know, but when you consider how much money in livestock and the amount of time you spend on keeping the inhabitants in your tank happy its worth it. Not only that with a chiller you are able to keep a very consistent temp all year round which IMO makes a huge impact on coral growth.

Sure fans might work for a bit until it gets 90+ degrees, then you also have to consider the amount of topping off required to keep up with evaporation and the impact on your water chemistry it will have.

Something to think about.

 

Strong
I always try to keep a fan blowing between the lights and the top of the water. I do use a controller to maintain the temp, but like Xroad said, use a timer to turn on before the lights do and turn off after the lights. Also I would just keep a close eye on the temp, and when it gets above 80, I would just open the top to help cool down.

Troy

 

also you can try and change your light cycle. as in turn your lights on later in the day when it isnt so hot out.

 

Hey Justin, drill the back and put in a basement sump.. OK, a little overkill for a BioCube, but that's what works for me. I have 800 watts of lights on my 120 gallon display (I stopped using the VHOs except before and after the MH lighting period because I didn't notice a difference with them on) and between the basement sump and the two four inch fans in my canopy, my temp has been pretty constant between 77 and 79.5. We also keep the house around 74 degrees which I'm sure helps too.

--AJ